“Great idea,” Mal approves.
They offer to serve a kind of spritz they discovered during their trip to Saint-Tropez earlier this year, and we both agree to try it out. As he gets started, Gerry explains it’s made with elderflower liqueur, and Jake, who’s definitely feeling more at ease, offers to help him. I nervously eavesdrop while trying to appear inconspicuous. The girls are out of sight, probably in their playroom.
“Oh, you own a bar?” Gerry asks after Jake reveals that fact.
“With two of my mates, yeah. I used to help out behind the counter for a bit, but I’m shi—bad at not breaking bottles. Also, getting pissed with the patrons wasn’t encouraged.”
“Gen, can you help me with the appetizers?” Mal asks, forcing me to trust the process and leave the men alone.
Things go pretty smoothly though, and we all settle in the lounge area. “Jake was telling me he owns a gallery,” Gerry explains to his wife as we get seated.
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, it’s been quite the success so far.”
I watch with nothing but pride as Jake talks to them about his life’s journey, and I can tell they’re both impressed by everything he’s accomplished. He’s just getting to the ethical values of his parlor when Poppy reappears and snakes her way in front of him. Very proudly, she shows him her arm and the colorful doodles drawn there with a felt-tip pen.
“Poppy, what did you do?” I ask with widened eyes.
“Cami and Goldie helped me!” she reveals with a proud grin. Her sisters choose that moment to join us, their arms also filled with drawings. They look very happy with themselves in their nice evening dresses. Jake is as tense as I am, waiting for their parents’ reaction.
“Girls, what did we say about using pens?” Mal asks with a slightly reprimanding tone.
Marigold looks down, putting her hands behind her to hide her arms. “We can only use them on paper.”
“At least this will be easier to clean off than the walls,” Gerry points out with unmasked amusement. “Is that a dolphin I see?” he then asks Camellia.
“Yes, I did it myself!”
That’s enough to dissipate the tension, and the girls return to their jovial little selves as they show us the reason they’ve been so quiet for the past twenty minutes. When Mal suggests that their nanny help them remove the drawings, my nieces beg to keep them on for the evening. Although reluctantly, their parents agree—as long as they stay away from the white couch.
“You were telling us about your parlor?” Malory tells Jake once the girls are off again, playing with their new toys this time.
Jake returns to the recounting of his many accomplishments, and I’m touched by how genuinely charmed and interested my brother and his wife seem. It’s not just me. This man is something else. Seeing him in this setting only proves it. My brother isn’t as demanding as my parents, but he remains hard to impress. He has been surrounded by successful and influential people since childhood, after all. Despite that, I can tell that Jake is slowly but surely earning Gerry’s seal of approval.
“Refill?” I offer, noticing our glasses are empty.
“I’ll help you,” my brother insists, picking up two glasses.
We walk together to the kitchen, and as we work on the next round of cocktails, I watch Jake and Mal have a few laughs.
When Poppy comes to demand some attention, Mal’s quick to pick her up and set her on her lap, her love for the girl dripping from every pore. This is something our mother never did for us, and it’s good to see that the generational trauma ends with Gerry and me. I still can’t believe he defied all odds and ended up marrying a woman so different from our world. Maybe there’s hope for Jake and me after all.
“She’s too good for you,” I remind Gerry with a smile.
His eyes are on Jake when he replies, “Andheis too good for you.”
I laugh and admire from afar the dashing Aussie who stole my heart. “I know, right? Isn’t he amazing?”
“I’ll be honest and say I was a little worried when I heard you and Eddie separated and that you were already seeing someone new. Then, when I saw him in the hallway earlier, I thought you’d lost your mind or wanted to give our parents a stroke. But now I get it, bug. He’s vividly interesting and remarkably charismatic.”
“He is. And I swear, he’s such a great man. His values are amazing, and the respect he has for me is beyond anything I ever imagined. He’s had a great influence on me.”
“I can tell. I don’t think I’ve seen you this alive and glowing since Vicky’s accident.”
The reminder of my twin, which always causes so much turmoil, only unleashes a slight twinge in my heart this time. “I haven’t been this happy since that day, no. I actually can’t tell if I was ever happy those past ten years or only convincing myself of it.”
Gerry sighs, gazing at our respective partners, still having their laughs together.
